Castle in Szczecinek

n the island of Lake Trzesiecko in the 13th century, there was a border stronghold of the Duchy of West Pomerania. In 1310, on the initiative of prince Warcisław IV, the construction of the castle began. It has not yet been explained whether the Warcisław castle was made of brick, if so, it was limited to a residential building, and the fortifications of the stronghold were only rebuilt. The castle was the seat of the prince's governor Arnold Dębicz. At the same time, a previously existing settlement on the mainland near the island received city rights.

In 1356, the buildings from the times of Warcisław were demolished and probably with the use of the obtained material, a new castle, fully brick, was erected. Initially, a wing was built at the southern end of the island from the lake side, 

photo by ZeroJeden, IV 2005

and the courtyard was surrounded by a perimeter wall, the whole had a plan similar to a rectangle. The residential building had only one storey, it also had a shallow basement. The entrance gate was located on the town side, i.e. from the north, from it a wooden bridge on stilts led to the mainland.

The construction of this complex was carried out until 1364. The shift of the border with the Teutonic Order, which reduced the defensive role of Szczecinek, led to a temporary suspension of further construction. By the end of the fourteenth century, however, work was resumed and the second floor of the main wing was built. Probably during the expansion carried out in the years 1459-1474 during the reign of prince Eric II, the northern wing was erected, in which the entrance gate was located. This building had three floors, and at its eastern corner there was a four-sided tower. In the documents, later names of the wings appear, the southern one is the knight's house and the northern one is called the gate wing.

The genesis of the tower called the prison tower, 

Szczecinek Castle in the photo from 1905-10

which was located at the eastern wall of the knight's house, is also not clearly explained. The thickness of the walls may indicate that it was not built in the Middle Ages, it can be assumed that it comes from the reconstruction made in the 16th century. This tower was cylindrical at the base with a diameter of over 8 meters, and its upper floors had a square plan.

In the years 1606-1610, Duke Philip II rebuilt the southern wing, giving it Renaissance features, and in the years 1619-1623, Duke Ulrich erected a new northern wing in place of the demolished one. In the years 1690 and 1780, the southern wing was rebuilt, and the northern wing was demolished in 1801. During the nineteenth and twentieth years, the surviving building was rebuilt several times.

After World War II, there was a tourist hostel in the castle, currently the building is not used.